Moment of Weakness
by JA Baker
Summary: Xander is in for a surprise when a stranger arrives claiming to be his biological father...


_Spoilers: Buffy to end, X-Men: The Last Stand_

**Moment of Weakness**

"So," Xander looked across the table at the old man sitting opposite, the hustle and bustle of the airport coffee-shop going un-noticed around them, "You think you're my dad then."

"I do not think, I know." The man's voice was deep and rich, hinting at a classical education and a lifetime of experience, "I can prove it quite easily, if that's what it will take to convince you."

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but I know who and what you are, and I'm not sure I'd want to be related to you."

"Because I'm a Mutant?"

"No; I was thinking more the wanted terrorist aspect."

"One man's terrorist is another mans freedom fighter."

"I think what you did in San Francisco puts you on the terrorist side of the equation."

"You are so much like your mother."

"Now that's the bit I find hardest to believe: Mr Mutants-First got involved with a 'mere' human like my mom. Because believe me, I would have noticed if she was a mutant."

"I met Jessica at a time in my life when I still believed in the possibility of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants. I was travelling round the country with an old friend, trying to calm fears when the Government finally acknowledged the existence of mutants. We were asked to speak at a pro-mutant rights rally at Berkeley, and that is where I met your mother. Her husband had just been set to prison for two years after getting into a fight at a bar..."

"That I have no problem believing."

"I never met Tony Harris, but I have problem believing it either. Anyway, I got talking to your mother, we had a few drinks, and things happened. A few months later, I received a telephone call informing me that she was pregnant. Given the dates involved, it was almost impossible that you were Tony's."

"Almost doesn't mean defiantly: as much as I hate to say this, I'd probably prefer being related to that sack of shit then you."

"That may be, Alexander, but a blood test performed just after you were born conformed that you are mine. For reasons I could never understand, your mother decided to stay with her husband, and managed to convince him that you were his son. He probably liked to believe that she'd never have the nerve to cheat on him."

"Considering how much he beating her, I can kind of understand that part. But she never gave any clue as to him not being my biological father."

"That is part of why I contacted you: you are not the only child Jessica Harris gave birth to nine months after we met at Berkeley..."

"What?" Xander sat bolt upright, almost spilling his coffee, "What are you saying?"

"You have a sister, a fraternal twin." The old man explained, "Your mother, worried about how her husband might treat a daughter, especial if he ever discovered that she wasn't his, had her adopted. I wanted to take her, but that would have required my name being put on both of your birth certificates. I tried to keep track of her, but things were very complicated back then, and I did not have the resources I have now."

"I have a sister?" Xander sat dumbfounded, "Has something happened to her?"

"I can not say: there is a high probability that she is a mutant, much like you or I, and I fear that she may have taken the 'cure' the government offered."

"How do you know I didn't take the cure?"

"You I have had under strict surveillance since you reached the age at which your abilities could start manifesting. I know exactly what they are; and that you have kept them hidden from your friends, rarely using them."

"My friends are a little skittish around things they do not understand: mutilation is probably not the first thing that would pop into their head if they saw me do what I can do."

"That I can understand, and it is for that reason I have kept from contacting you all these years: you have been most important to them, but now I need you. Your sister needs you."

"I'll find her, but not for you; for me."

"I don't care why you find her: I just need to know that she is alive and unharmed."

"Just so long as we understand one another. So, is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Just the names of her adoptive parents: Django and Marya Maximoff. Her adoption records were sealed, but I was able to find that out."

"What about her name? Do you know that?"

"Wanda, your mother named her Wanda."

"How do I contact you?"

"This number will put you through to an ammonia voice-messaging service in Vancouver." The old man handed over a business card, "Leave a message and a means of contact there, and I shall get back to you."

"I guess I'd better be going then." Xander stood, looking at his watch, "it's an eight hour flight to New York: I can get a connecting flight to LA from there..."

"Why fly?" His father asked, bemused, "You could get there much faster on your own."

"Oh yeah!" Xander smiled at his own stupidity, "Guess I've hidden my abilities for so long that I'd almost forgotten I had them."

"Then run like the wind."

"Please; I could outrun the wind while sleepwalking."

There was a blur of movement, and Xander was gone.

"And so it begins." Magneto sat back and sipped his tea, "Good luck, my son."

**Fin**


End file.
